Civil War Combat

The Wheatfield at Gettysburg

The Bloody Lane at Antietam

In September 1862, Robert E. Lee invaded the North for the first time and met the Union army along the banks of Maryland's Antietam Creek, which became the sight of the bloodiest single day in U.S. military history. Visit the scene of the most concentrated fury of that day, on a narrow country road forever after called "Bloody Lane".

The Hornets Nest at Shiloh

On April 6, 1862, Confederate forces under General Albert Johnston caught Union forces by surprise near Shiloh Church. The battle culminated in an area along an abandoned wagon road later dubbed 'The Hornet's Nest' due to the ferocity of the fighting.

The Tragedy at Cold Harbor

In 1864, General Grant doggedly pursued Lee's forces. On June 3, the two sides met at Cold Harbor, a crossroads near Richmond, where Grant hurled his men against entrenched breastworks, losing 7,000 in 20 minutes. Fighting on, he won victory 10 months later. Hastening the South's end, Cold Harbor ushered in an era of trench warfare.